No major exodus from EU after MIFID II, says ETR Advisory

Tanya Ashreena, AgriMoney.com

Commodity traders need to hurry to revamp their processes to comply with updated European rules surrounding MIFID II, which is aimed at boosting transparency in derivatives trading, regulatory expert Aviv Handler said.

Mr Handler, managing director at ETR Advisory, said that while a newly-extended deadline of January 2018 may appear to offer ample amounts of time for compliance, traders should stay on their toes, as the scale of change required is bigger than some believe.

"I don't see people being ready at all," he said. "Twelve months is not long to comply. You think you know what rules there are, but you don't," Mr Handler said.

The new rules were deterring some traders, who had to operate like investment firms, he said. "The possibility of becoming an investment firm may deter some, reducing liquidity and increasing volatility," Mr Handler said.

But some may enter the market as a part of regulatory "executive play", or to test the water, he said.

However, fears of traders leaving the EU were unfounded, he believed. Read more